1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data transmission technology, and more particularly to a facsimile machine and a data conversion device which convert data of a prescribed format into data of a format appropriate for data transmission and transmit the converted data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Accompanying a recent development in network technology, information equipment such as a facsimile machine and a Multi Function Peripheral (MFP) is connected to a network. When carrying out a facsimile transmission of an original document generated by a certain application program from such a facsimile machine, for example, the original document is required to be printed out and the printed out sheet is required to be scanned by a scanner device.
In general, in a system which transmits a content not limited to image data, there are cases in which a data format of the content is converted at a client terminal or at a server according to necessity. According to one technology, the server receives a request of a distribution of the content from the client terminal, into an appropriate data format for each client terminal.
In a company or the like, terminal devices such as a Personal Computer (PC) and devices such as a file server and a printer are connected to a network such as a Local Area Network (LAN). The terminal devices and the devices use files of one another via the network. Accordingly, a worker can work efficiently in a paperless environment. With respect to a facsimile machine which can be connected to the network, by installing a facsimile driver software to the PC, a facsimile transmission can be instructed from the PC to the facsimile machine. However, the facsimile driver software is required to be installed to each PC. In addition, according to an ability of the PC, there are cases in which a processing speed of another application program is reduced. Although a facsimile transmission of a shared file can be instructed from the PC, the facsimile transmission of the shared file cannot be carried out from the facsimile machine. Due to such operations, compared with other communication devices on the network, the transmission process cannot be carried out efficiently in the facsimile machine which causes the worker to feel inconvenienced.